Dying Juniper

Dying Juniper

Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:32 am

My lil bro gave me a bonsai tree for Christmas. It is, I'm 90% sure, a Juniper. The past couple weeks it's been getting browner and browner. Unfortunately my living conditions don't allow me to keep it outside or in a window that receives direct sunlight.... I checked the trunk and it is still moist and some green. It appears to be in a soil similar to potting soil. The instructions that came with it said to water it every day, thus that's what I did. Is there any way to save this thing?

Unfortunately this is the the almost inevitable fate of Junipers that are kept indoors. This forum is littered with the corpses of Junipers that were purchased on a whim or given as gifts. Vendors make it seem that keeping these trees is simply a matter of watering. The truth is that Junipers are one of the worst choices for indoor bonsai. They can look good while they are slowly dying, just like a Christmas tree. By the time they are dry and brown they are already in distress.

Since you have no options available to you I have little hope it will recover. If you wish to grow inside there are other, more appropriate, species. Without a decent window or supplemental lighting of some sort I'm afraid you are fighting an uphill battle. There are precious few trees that will do well inside under low light conditions. You might try a Schefflera.